3 Hospitalized After Shooting Outside NSA Campus

Credit: NBC Washington
A vehicle near the gate of the NSA appeared to crash and have bullet holes in it.

Credit: NBC Washington
A suspect is reportedly in custody.

The FBI has taken the lead in investigating a Wednesday morning shooting involving a SUV at the gate of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade.

Several people were taken to the hospital and no injuries appear to be life-threatening at this point. The incident was not an act of terrorism, authorities say.

Three men were taken into custody, FBI Special Agent in Charge Gordon Johnson said. One of those men was among the three taken to nearby hospitals. The others injured included an NSA police officer and a civilian onlooker. None of the injuries were consistent with gunfire, Johnson said.

He called the encounter an isolated incident.

Johnson confirmed that the incident happened on the Canine Road gate to the NSA. He said the vehicle was not being pursued by any other law enforcement agency before the encounter at Fort Meade.

President Donald Trump has been “briefed on the shooting at Ft. Meade,” and the White House offered thoughts and prayers with those who have been affected, spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said.

Johnson said he wasn't prepared to identify the suspects or where they came from, saying the men were in NSA custody and being questioned. The vehicle involved had New York plates. Johnson said they are considering the possibility that the vehicle was a rental. It's also not clear whether there were weapons in the car, as agents haven't yet had the opportunity to search it.

"I'm not going to address the possibilities right now, we're still in the fact-collecting business right now," Johnson said.

While an NSA spokesman said earlier Wednesday that weapons were discharged, Johnson hedged on the matter, saying that while the bullet holes seen in the windshield are consistent with shots being fired at the vehicle rather than from inside, he couldn't confirm if an officer opened fire.

Employees at the NSA are now being allowed into the building. FBI officials said the incident was contained around 9 a.m. Anne Arundel County fire crews are assisting Fort Meade fire crews at the scene.

Despite prominent highway signs, drivers occasionally take the wrong exit and end up at the tightly secured gates. Most motorists then carefully follow the orders of heavily armed federal officers and turn around without getting into more trouble.

But in early 2015, two people were shot at by NSA police when they disobeyed orders outside the heavily secured campus. One driver died at the scene after NSA police opened fire on a stolen sports utility vehicle. Authorities later said they had stolen a car from a man who picked them up for a party at a motel.

UPDATE: There has been a police officer injured in this incident. Unclear from which agency. Shooter (singular) is in custody. MD 32 is now CLOSED EACH WAY between the B/W Pkwy and Canine Rd. Traffic is NOT being allowed onto the Campus at NSA @wbalradiohttps://t.co/7ZaewsSvGt